Does BBC2 drama deserve a glowing report?

The Night Watch: atmospheric and beautifully acted. Photograph: John Rogers/BBC

A 90-minute adaptation of Sarah Waters's brilliant novel The Night Watch hits BBC2 screens tonight – the latest drama from a channel that 18 months ago received a budget boost of £10m each year for the next three years.

That cash, earmarked specifically for drama, prompted a "collective sigh of relief" from a drama production industry keen to make more of the brainy stuff, according to BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson. But what difference has it made for the viewer at home? Time to give Stephenson and his team a half-term report, and look at what's coming up.

The Night Watch, tonight's single drama, shows the channel on fine form. A skilful, faithful rendition of the book, which tells various stories of lesbian love during the Blitz, it takes you on a journey so atmospheric you can almost breathe in the soot and feel the licking flames of a London under German bombardment. It is also beautifully acted, with Anna Maxwell Martin mesmerising as Kay, and Claire Foy playing her naive lover Helen.

The start of term got underway with similar panache, thanks to a sumptuous adaptation of Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White, starring Romola Garai as prostitute Sugar. The series was captivating, looked a lot more expensive than it actually was, and had some brilliant casting – the choice of Chris O'Dowd as William Rackham was a particular revelation.

And you don't need me to list all the wonderful adjectives that were rightly laid at the feet of The Shadow Line, Hugo Blick's thriller – even if the Telegraph called it a "baroque game of Cluedo". It might not have been perfect drama, but it was adventurous and experimental and compelling. (For more discussion, our episode-by-episode blog has some excellent theories and opinions on the series).

Later this summer we'll see David Hare's first original TV screenplay for 20 years, Page Eight, which is being spoken about in such hushed tones at the BBC that it is almost as if the Son of Man himself had decided to rustle up a TV script. What Hare has done is pen a fairly passable thriller about an intelligence analyst (Bill Nighy) who stumbles upon evidence that the prime minister (Ralph Fiennes capturing something of the flared nostrils menace of his Voldemort) colluded with US government ne'er-do-wells and put British lives at risk in the process. It's all given a little romantic sauce in a May to September side-plot as Nighy's character joins forces with his beautiful, wronged neighbour (Rachel Weisz).

There's pace and drama here, but perhaps not the depth and subtlety we may expect from a writer billed as one of Britain's best. Lines such as "I don't know who runs [the country] … I thought the bankers did and look what happened to them" feel somewhat preachy and simplistic at times. Hare hopes to develop Nighy's character for a full TV series. You can judge whether he should when Page 8 airs on BBC2 later this year.

Still, the fact remains that much of what BBC2 has done with the increased money has been impressive, especially if thrillers are your thing. And there's more to come. Polestar in the dazzling firmament is the four Shakespeare histories to be directed by Sam Mendes for next year.

Next week brings The Hour, Abi Morgan's series about a 1950s BBC newsroom, which also promises much. Episode one shows it to be beautifully produced, with some excellent performances, especially from Romola Garai (again) and Ben Whishaw as the dazzling youngsters facing an exciting future in a new-style news environment.

This is interwoven with a story of government chicanery (the backdrop is the Suez crisis) and there are two brutal scenes in episode one which may have some viewers wondering whether Morgan makes one tonal gear change too many.But there is scale and ambition here. And it's where BBC2 has been spending its extra money, so all credit to them.

But what do you think? Has BBC2 spent its money well? Which of its new dramas have impressed you? And what would you like to see the channel tackle next?